The Fear Of Water
by midnightwriter1898
Summary: Tess is fed up with Mitchie... can Shane save her? One-shot written late at night, sorry if it's crappy :


**A.N:**_ If this is confusing, it's late at night, I'm on the laptop, and I'm half asleep. 'Nuff said. Review?_

_Disclaimer: I don't own CR..... ugh :(_

* * *

**The dark water** covers over her head, and she flails her arms wildly, desperate to return to the surface. But there's a hand, and it's pushing her further into the darkness, and she feels herself panicking when she realizes that the hand is too strong for her.

She attempts to calm herself - she knows that by panicking, she's loosing precious air; air that she needs to _survive_. But she never was good at holding her breath - she briefly remembers loosing every contest in that department. The panic rises in her stomach, and she wishes that she was out of the water so she could puke.

The hand pushing her down finally retreats, and she wants to give a sigh of relief, but when she goes to push her way to the surface, she realizes that she _can't_, because she's too weak. She doesn't have any air left in her lungs, and she desperately needs to take a breath. Her vision swims before her eyes, and she struggles to stop herself from slipping unconscious. But she can feel herself growing weaker, and her struggles slowly stop.

She swallows a mouthful of water unwillingly, and it's about then that she slips into the darkness.

* * *

He's walking past the dock, thinking of the new song he's working on, when he sees a flash of white. At first, he thinks nothing of it, but it's when he notices the pale blonde hair accompanying it that he takes another look. _Tess._Oh, how he despises the blonde-wannabe, with her stuck up ways and her diva attitude. And it's no secret that he finds it a little pathetic at how obsessed she is, and how she'd do anything just to be with him.

At that thought, a frown crosses his face. What _is_she doing over by the dock, anyway? She's never even come to the lake before, claiming that she "can't be seen with a sunburn" and such. Instantly, he grows suspicious, especially when he manages to catch a glimpse of her expression. She looks... _evil._

His panic grows, and he begins to sprint towards the dock, his heart jumping into his throat. Call it a sixth sense, but he _knows_ something is wrong. Tess catches sight of him and bolts off, allowing the triumphant smile to slip off her face for a moment, replaced by fear, and instantly, he knows why. _Mitchie. _He skids to a stop, wondering what the blonde could have done to his girlfriend, because she's nowhere in sight. And then a terrible thought enters his head, and unwillingly, his eyes travel to the dark water below him.

And just like that, he knows what happened.

He shouts her name as he jumps in.

* * *

There's darkness all around her - darkness in the water, darkness in her head, and dark colors swirling before her eyes. She doesn't know why she's still almost aware of what's going on around her, when she's unconscious, but she can't help it. She knows she isn't quite dead yet.

She wonders if this is how it feels to be dying, and how much longer it is before the water swallows her up for good. This isn't how she wanted to go.

She can feel her senses dimming, and she knows that soon, she'll be gone. She can't help but feel helpless, and a strong regret at never getting the chance to live her life - to become a singer, to tell Shane that she loved him...

Suddenly, she feels a strong pair of hands intertwine into her own, and she feels a spark of joy, but she can't respond, and suddenly, she can't feel.

_It's too late, because I'm already gone._

* * *

He searches desperately, ignoring his own need for air. He has to find her... it can't end like this. He jumps as he feels something - grabbing ahold quickly, he realizes that it is Mitchie, and once again, the fear rises into his throat. Desperately, he pulls her towards the surface, realizing that she's limp. He tries to ignore the panic and focus on getting to the surface, and finally, he breaks free of the water, pulling her up beside him.

He can hardly breath when he sees her pale, white face, and her purple lips, and the way her head lolls back against his shoulder. Struggling to keep afloat, he makes his way to the dock, pushing her up first before pulling himself up and landing beside her, instantly shaking her to see if she'll wake. She doesn't.

Now he's glad he's taken CPR classes, because he remembers the lessons on drowning. He flinches as he realizes he'll probably end up hurting her, but he knows that he'll do it if it means saving her life. Swiftly, he rolls her onto her stomach and hits her back, not too hard, but hard enough that if she's swallowed water, it will be forced up. She doesn't respond. _Nothing._

A sick feeling rises in his stomach, but he does it again, hoping, praying, that she'll respond. _She doesn't move._

Tears are clouding his vision, and in one last desperate attempt, he slams his fist against her back in a blind panic. She lies still, and now he's sobbing uncontrollably. _He lost her_.

Suddenly, there's a choking sound, and he stops, his eyes shooting over to Mitchie, who was now spitting up water uncontrollably. His eyes widen and he jumps to her side, placing his hand on her back, and she weakly rolls over, staring up at him faintly.

She opens her mouth to speak, but it comes out it a choked cough, and he shakes his head, tears of joy streaming down his face._ She's alive, she's alive... he almost lost her._

"Shane." She sounds so weak, and he cautiously places a hand on her own, getting to his feet and bending over to pick her up. She tries to swat him away, but she's still weak, and the moment she's in his arms she relaxes, focusing instead on breathing. _Oh, the air never satisfied her so much as now._

* * *

She almost drowned. He saved her, risking her own life for hers. She grips his jacket for support and comfort as he heads towards the nurses station, the hint of tears still in his eyes. She sees her friends giving them bewildered look as they walk by, but she doesn't care.

He stays by her side the entire time, holding her hand, as they wait for the nurse to come in. He doesn't speak, but she can see everything he wants to say by looking into his eyes. He already knows this, however, and so he simply leans down, whispering into her ear.

"I'll never leave you." He whispers, and she glances up at him with a smile on her face.

"Neither will I." She replies before leaning her head down on his shoulder, and taking a deep breath, thankful that she's alive.

* * *

**Crappiest ending EVER. Sorry, it was late and I just wanted to FINISH it. lol Review anyone? ::)**


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